23. Ed Leonard

Whether it's making Shrek come alive, guiding the 20 million hours of computing time to build Kung Fu Panda, or putting the amoeba-like B.O.B. into 3-D for Monsters vs. Aliens, DreamWorks' problems eventually find Ed Leonard. "For every film we start, we never know how we're going to finish it because of technical challenges," says Leonard, 47, who once developed flight-simulation software. He often calls on DreamWorks partners like HP or Intel. That's what happened with Monsters vs. Aliens, which required a separate rendering process for left- and right-eye images. "Using specially designed workstations," Leonard says, "HP helped us eliminate the creative limitations of working in 3-D." The film is on target to gross more than $200 million. — by Mark Borden